These Slivers of Sunlight
by Miss Mungoe
Summary: A life of freedom under the open skies; theirs are mementos chiselled deep into the planks. Their stories will linger long after they are gone – Luffy/Nami.
1. priorities

AN: So this will be a collection of Luffy/Nami shorts of varying length spanning the entire series. The first parts are old works I've found in my 'unfinished' folder and brushed up on, but as I progress the others will be set post-3D2Y. They won't always be chronological, and most will feature Luffy/Nami as an established thing (although there will be the odd deviation). I hope you'll enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or its characters – Eiichiro Oda does.

* * *

**These Slivers of Sunlight**

**by Miss Mungoe**

* * *

–_**priorities**_.

Being a Captain, Monkey D. Luffy had come to understand, meant you couldn't always have your cake and eat it.

The finer points of the saying escaped him (because why would he have a cake he couldn't eat in the first place?), but Robin had explained it as making a choice at the cost of something else, and that he could understand. It wasn't really about cake at all, but about decisions. And decision-making was a pretty important part of being Captain, and as Captain you couldn't always make the decisions you wanted to.

Sanji's righteous howl drifted back to him as he set off at a run, reigning in his attention from the fit his cook was throwing and setting his focus on more important things – food, then their shadows (in that order, because he was getting seriously hungry and the fat-ass wasn't going anywhere). But despite his best efforts his mind kept slipping, and he threw a glance over his shoulder to catch the afterglow of Sanji's flames-of-hell-spurred fury that had momentarily lit up the sky over Thriller Bark.

And for someone who was notorious for having food constantly on his mind, it was surprisingly hard to remind himself that he'd made it his first priority. Because despite his orders (and his growling stomach), the prospect of food didn't sound as tempting as it should. Overpowering the hunger was a righteous anger that didn't burn as bright as Sanji's but that was no less furious, and over that again an odd sense of regret that was as unfamiliar as it was confusing. Because as Sanji's shouts faded away in the distance, Luffy felt the near uncontrollable urge to chase after him.

Nami was in trouble, and part of him was miffed it wasn't him running after her, screaming bloody murder and promising a world of pain and the depths of Davy Jones' locker to whoever had the nerve to so much as look at her, let alone snatch her away. He'd done that once, a long time ago. It had been his duty, in his then small-but-efficient crew, but they'd grown since then, and now the job of Nami-herding had fallen onto someone else. And at Luffy's own orders, too.

So there was Robin's cake, and there was him, running in the opposite direction,

Food, Nami and shadows. The order had been simple, and there had been no complaints or surprise at the one sent chasing after their navigator, who was apparently getting herself married against her will to some undead creep of serious proportions. That bothered him, too, and he urge to find the guy who had the galls to lay claims to _his_ navigator made his teeth clench in an uncharacteristic show of anger. Well, no, not uncharacteristic, because he _did_ feel anger, especially when the things important to him were a risk. His _nakama_, his hat, his dream. His future queen. Because that was, essentially, what she was. Nami was perfect queen-material – he'd decided that within five minutes of meeting her. She was smart, she loved treasure and she was the best navigator on the Grand Line. He'd never get lost with her, and since he had no idea what to use One Piece for once he found it (besides buying a bronze statue and a steak the size of his ship), giving it to her made perfect sense. She hoarded treasure like the klepto-cat she was, and giving her the ultimate one was sure to make her happy. And when she was happy, he was happy (that was something else he'd learned, beside the not-eating-the-cake thing). And she was really pretty, and queens were generally known for being pretty. She'd make a perfect Pirate Queen.

Except right now she was off getting married to some weirdo straight out of his own grave, and his crew's chef was running to her rescue.

And it felt _wrong._ Like, cutting-the-fat-off-the-meat kind of wrong, but there was nothing he could do about it, not really. Because the thought of chasing after her himself felt strange, too. Like it didn't fit, although maybe it should? Because kings were supposed to protect their queens – they didn't send their friends off to do it for them. But he wasn't good at rescuing girls, not all suave-like they way Sanji did. Or at least, he didn't think he was. Sanji was always so cool when he did things like that, and he said and did things that made girls smile and laugh. Even Luffy's best party-trick of sticking chopsticks up his nose had never earned him anything but a knock over the head.

Another frown pulled at his brows as he glanced once more in the direction Sanji had taken off in a flurry of burning outrage. He knew he would get Nami back safe (and hopefully still unmarried). Luffy had another mission – getting their shadows back, and the fat-ass wasn't going to beat the crap out of himself. That was his job as a Captain; the safety of his _nakama_ rested on his shoulders, and he couldn't go around choosing one over the others. That wasn't how being a Captain worked. Someone else would have to eat the cake. He had a fight to get to, and it was a fight that was bound to be nothing short of spectacular, which was usually enough to set his mind on a singular track until the deed was done.

Now, if he could just stop thinking about the fact that Nami was getting married and that he was running in the opposite direction...

* * *

The subject of Robin's Cake Conundrum (she'd helped him pick the name, because it rhymed a lot better than 'mystery' which was the one he'd chosen), didn't come up again until a good while later, when they'd put Thriller Bark and the Florian Triangle behind them and were well on their way towards their next adventure. He'd had a lot of time to think about his priority-dilemma once they'd gotten their shadows back, and had found that there was, in fact, a loophole that was pretty obvious once he thought about it.

And so, "You'll be top priority," he announced one day.

She cracked open one eye to look at him from behind her tinted sunglasses. She'd been on deck sunbathing when he'd found her, and hadn't been nearly as annoyed at his interruption as she'd been the times she'd almost thrown him overboard.

Of course, she was sunbathing with her bikini-top on this time, so he guessed it might have something to do with _that_.

"I'll be what?"

Luffy grinned, because he'd come to this decision by himself. And it was a brilliant decision, too. It solved his problem, and it kept things from changing.

Well, they wouldn't change _much_.

"You'll be my top priority, when you're Queen," he elaborated with a nod of his head, in case she hadn't already caught on. She should have, though, being so smart as she always claimed to be.

When he turned his gaze back to hers Nami's brows were furrowed, and she'd lifted her glasses up to her brow, giving him a clear view of her eyes. She was wearing the expression she usually wore whenever she claimed he was pulling her leg.

The stray thought made his hand itch towards the bare stretch of leg closest to him, but he reigned in his urge and tucked his hands under his thighs.

Oblivious to his struggle, Nami was still watching him intently. Then, "If that's a proposal it's a pretty lousy one," she said as she tugged her sunglasses back down to her nose. "And you can't just say _when_, like it's a fact."

Luffy raised a brow. "You don't wanna be Queen?"

"I didn't say _that_."

He frowned. "Then what?"

She lifted her glasses again. "What's all this concern about me being Queen all of a sudden?" she asked.

He shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. "I dunno. I was just thinking that if you _were_, I could run after you."

She looked at him a long moment, before a wry smile stretched across her face. "Are you saying you want to be my knight in shining armour, Luffy?" she asked. "Because I'm pretty sure you'd have to fight Sanji-kun for the title."

He snorted. "I don't want to be a knight," he argued (even though he had worn armour and it _had_ been pretty damn amazing), "Knights don't marry queens."

"Some knights do, in the stories," she reasoned.

He raised a brow. "_You_ wouldn't marry a knight."

She glared. "And why is that?" And there was a distinct note of warning in her tone, the kind that told him he was a few choice words away from a fist to the face.

"Knights don't have money," he deadpanned.

She blinked, and then a grin tugged at her lips. "Well, damn. Can't argue with that now, can I?"

Luffy was silent a moment, turning the thought over in his mind. "But don't marry any undead creeps. Even if they're rich," he added.

She snorted. "I've had my fill, thanks."

"...and no _cooks_, either."

He knew he'd taken a chance with that one, but the smile still on her face assured him he wasn't about to go sailing overboard. "Getting a little close to home?" she asked, and he shifted in his seat, but said nothing.

She looked at him for a long time from over the rim of her glasses. Then she scooted closer, placing a hand on his leg as she tilted her head and brushed her mouth against his. Her nose was warm from the sun, and her glasses bumped against his brow, but he grinned against her mouth, happy she'd responded like _that_ and not boxed his ears like he'd been afraid she would.

"Why would I go for the cook when I've got my heart set on the King?" she asked then, tangerine hair glowing bright like molten gold under the sun, and he wondered for a moment if that wasn't perhaps why she was so enamoured with her own reflection.

Then her hands were in his hair, tugging his hat from his head before placing it on her own with a playful grin. "And you _did_ say I'd be top priority, which is a pretty good sale. Although I'm a little insulted I'm not already." She raised a brow, and he wondered if he should maybe explain the thing with the cake when she suddenly grinned.

"Or maybe I already am. You _did_ send one of your best knights," she winked.

Luffy blinked, before a grin stretched across his face. She did have a point. "So I _do_ get to eat the cake?"

She frowned. "What?"

His grin only widened as he dropped down on his back beside her, and she squeaked as he tugged her towards him, making her fall over his chest and the hat on her head to come tumbling from her head. She nudged it back in place and pushed herself up on her hands, glare already firmly in place.

"A warning next time!" she chided as she flicked his nose, but the smile on her face betrayed her anger (and he had gotten really good at telling the difference between play-angry and you're-about-to-meet-your-maker angry). "_Mou_, you're too impulsive. And what's all this talk about cake?"

Luffy only grinned. "You're my cake, Nami, and I get to eat you."

She snorted. "I can't tell if that's meant to be a compliment or not, but since it's _food_ I'm going to go with that." She shook her head. "But I'd still like to point out that I'm _not_ food, okay?"

He looked up at her, scheming grin and eyes clever-as-a-cat's framed by the wide brim of his hat, and the late golden sunlight filtering through the fissures in the worn straw. "Nah," he declared. "You're Nami." He laughed. "You're _way_ better than cake!"

She smiled, and ducked her head in a rare show of shyness. "Hey–"

"Unless we're talking Sanji's _chocolate_ cake, because that_–mmmppff!"_

Nami sighed, hand clamped firmly over his mouth. "Almost had it, Captain. Good try, though."

He glared up at her, but she replaced her hand with her mouth for a kiss, and his anger was short-lived. Then she rested her chin on his chest, a small smile playing at her lips, and he knew he hadn't upset her too much. "Well, come to think of it..." she began, fingers drumming against his sternum.

Luffy raised a brow. "Yeah?"

She grinned. "Sanji's chocolate cake _is_ pretty amazing."

He laughed, and tightened his grip around her. "_Right_?"

As it turned out, you could actually have all sorts of cake and eat the lot, which meant that Robin's Cake Conundrum didn't really hold water (even though it did sound cool when he said it). And as far as _Things He'd Learned from Being a Captain_ went, Luffy decided that that was one of his favourite, coming a close second to the most important understanding of them all. Which was the rather simple truth that it was all about finding the right kind of cake to being with. If you did, you wouldn't have any problems.

Nami tilted her head, smiling knowingly. "All this talk of cake has made you pretty hungry, I bet."

He groaned. "_Starving_!"

She laughed. "I'm pretty sure Sanji still has some chocolate stashed away," she winked. "I'll put in a good word for you."

And it just so happened that his cake was the best damned cake on the Grand Line.

Sanji's chocolate cake included.

* * *

AN: Luffy, I think, would be the kind of person with a more-than-average appreciation for food-related idioms and metaphors. And I know the whole 'Nami as Pirate Queen'-scenario is kinda overdone with this pairing, but I wanted to have my go at it. I do hope it wasn't too disappointing; if you did like it and feel like leaving feedback, please do!


	2. dropping eaves

AN: Set sometime, somewhere after Enies Lobby. Luffy/Nami, from the ears of Zoro.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or its characters – Eiichiro Oda does.

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–_**dropping eaves.**_

That Roronoa Zoro spent most of his day asleep was as self-evident a truth amongst the Straw-Hats as the fact that Zoro never really could find his way back to the ship after an outing (regardless their numerous attempts at tying a string to his wrist for him to follow). In fact, 'Zoro's probably asleep somewhere' ranked a close second to 'Where the hell did Zoro go?'on the range of remarks most often related to the moss-head (incidentally, the latter often followed the first).

The fact of the matter was: Zoro slept. A lot. Which had led to the widely popular belief that he remained unaware of most of the happenings on the ship. Which was really just a bunch of exaggerated codswallop, because contrary to popular belief Zoro didn't actually _sleep_ nearly as much as he pretended to (or not 'pretended to' _per se_, but that was probably what they'd call it if they ever found out he was just sitting around with his eyes closed half the time). He was well aware why it might look like he was asleep, but as far as being observant went, he was as alert with his eyes shut as he was in the middle of battle. And as a result of years spent feigning sleep, he had a very keen sense of hearing, and was very much attuned to the going-ons on the ship.

Including that which wasn't _strictly_ meant for his ears.

Some (and he could name quite a few members in his crew alone) would probably classify what he was doing as _eavesdropping,_ whereas Zoro had long since chalked it up on his extensive list marked 'Training and Related Exercises'. He wasn't a damn snoop – he was honing his senses. Everything else just came as an added bonus. Besides, he couldn't be held responsible for finding out the occasional oddity about his crewmates, or coming across conversations he normally wouldn't be privy to. It was their own damn fault for assuming. Didn't they know appearances could be deceiving?

Of course, knowing his nakama as well as he did by now the answer to that was a blatant _no_, and as a result, Zoro could with a fair amount of certainty claim to know more about his crewmates than anyone else on the ship, including the demon woman, whose cat-like eyes followed everyone, everywhere. Because there were things of which not even Nico Robin was aware.

"_Luffy?"_

The whisper was almost lost in the sound of the wind pushing against the slack sails, but he'd caught it regardless. He blinked, before his brows pulled down. Hadn't the money-grubber gone to bed already?

"Ah! Nami, there you are!" The eager voice of their captain wasn't nearly as quiet, and shattered the silence so startlingly that Zoro jumped despite himself.

"Idiot!" came the indignant hiss from the aforementioned money-grubber, followed by the distinct _'thwack'_ that was almost always included in Nami's confrontations with the captain. "Do you want to wake the entire ship?" she asked. _"Mou,_ Luffy, you couldn't pull off a cloak-and-dagger if your life depended on it."

Zoro's brows furrowed deeper. _Cloak-and-dagger? _

"Eeh? Why would I need a cloak and dagger, Nami? I thought we were just sneaking around."

Zoro resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but he knew the witch well enough to know that she was doing it for the both of them. As well as rubbing her temples the way she did whenever their captain asked questions regarding the things on _her_ extensive list of 'Self-Evident Shit that Should Be Pretty Damn Obvious Already'.

But this time an unexpected laugh burst from her mouth, taking Zoro by surprise. "You're a dork," she snorted, but there was a smile in her voice that made Zoro wonder if this really _was_ Nami speaking, and not some impersonator who happened to sound like the klepto-cat. He was almost tempted to look over the railing to see what they were doing, but stopped himself. He might be pushing it with the not-an-eavesdropper claim, but damn it all if he'd let himself be reduced to _voyeurism._

Luffy snickered. "Yeah, yeah. You've told me," he said, and the rustle of grass told Zoro they were on the lawn deck. There was a soft, ungraceful '_thump',_ followed by the tell-tale noise of someone stretching, and he knew his captain's habits well enough to know he'd plopped down onto the grass, which wasn't much of an oddity in itself. What _was_ an oddity was the thief's unexplained presence. If he didn't know any better, he'd think–

Nah. _That_ was pushing the limits of probability, surely.

...right?

"The stars are out tonight," Nami said then, breaking the silence, and her light, even footsteps followed Luffy's across the grass. Zoro couldn't hear her sit down, so he assumed she remained standing.

Luffy hummed in consent, before they delved back into silence – a rarity in and of itself, seeing as it involved _Luffy_. Zoro was almost beginning to wonder if he'd fallen asleep when he suddenly spoke, "What's wrong?"

A pause followed before Nami answered, "Does your head still hurt?"

"My head? Nah, it's fine." Then, after a beat, "Why?"

An exhale. "You took a real beating back there," she murmured, voice uncharacteristically_...soft,_ for someone who spent most of her time yelling.

"I always take real beatings," Luffy reasoned happily, and Zoro resisted the urge to snort. Leave it to their captain to be so painfully blunt about his own health (or in this case _lack thereof_).

Nami chuckled humourlessly. "I know," she sighed. "But…you really scared me back there, you know. On the bridge, when that marine said you hadn't moved, and that you weren't getting up. I thought…" she trailed off. There was a shuffle of feet on the grass. "You always get up after a fight. You're always the first back on your feet, and–" she paused, and a beat passed before she continued, words strangely awkward for someone who was known for her smooth-talking, "I guess for a second there, I thought you were dead."

Zoro's brows furrowed, because she hadn't been the only one who'd momentarily faltered in her belief in Luffy's waterproof I-get-knocked-down-but-I-get-up-again policy. And she did have a point – he always got back on his feet, bashed in head or gaping hole through his stomach not-withstanding. Zoro had felt like a right idiot afterwards for even thinking it, but felt strangely better now, when it turned out he hadn't been the only one to consider the thought. As far as their encounters with the Government went, to say that Enies Lobby had been the worst would be putting it lightly. They'd been in over their heads, and they were damn lucky they'd gotten away alive.

Luffy laughed despite the sheer morbidity of the conversation. "Sorry," he apologized sheepishly, before another _'thwack'_ had him yelping. "Ow! Damn it, Nami, what was that for? I said I was sorry!"

Nami scoffed. _"Jerk._ Saying you're sorry doesn't make it any better!"

Luffy whined. "Whaddaya want me to say, then? And you freaked me out, too, you know! You were in the tunnel, weren't you? When it got flooded?"

Nami didn't answer, and he continued, "The hell do you think that felt, huh?" he asked. "Even if I went to help, I'd only end up drowning."

Nami was silent a moment. Then, "You'd jump in anyway, wouldn't you?" she deadpanned.

"Aa. If I could've."

Zoro almost expected her to hit him again, but there was no sound of fist hitting head, or any cries of despair from Luffy. "Nami? Oye."

"Don't."

"Na?"

A sigh. "Don't ever do something like that, if it should happen again."

Luffy was silent.

"Luffy-"

"I'm not gonna promise anything," he said.

She huffed. "You'd get yourself killed. I know we're your nakama, but–"

"I don't care. I need you."

"–I _know._ You're as bad at navigation as you are at sneaking around, _but_–"

"No," he cut her off. "Well, yeah. But that's not what I meant," he said. "I need _you." _

There was a stunned silence, and had Zoro not been so caught up in the whole thing, he might have lamented that the not-an-eavesdropper excuse had been thrown quite violently to the four winds.

"I need you," Luffy repeated. "I know I get lost, and I wouldn't be here without you," he said, "but…" he trailed off. "I wouldn't _want_ to be here without you, either."

"Luffy…"

"If I'm gonna be the Pirate King, I need to achieve it all. I need to find One Piece," he continued, the words as familiar as they were confident. "But if you're not there to hog it all to yourself…then it's not worth it," he declared. "I don't wanna find it if you're not there to steal it from under my nose."

Zoro contemplated for a moment the oddly private nature of the conversation, and was suddenly _very_ much aware of his intrusion, his denial not-withstanding. He'd heard his share of secrets, but this seemed different, somehow; it wasn't so much a secret as it was a deeply intimate matter, a fact made all the more evident by who was addressing whom. But he also knew that if he moved now, no matter how silently, the odds that he'd get away without either of them hearing were slim (he knew for a fact the thief had hearing like a damn _bat_). And there was no way in hell he was okay with being caught.

There was another shuffle on the grass and a distinct rearranging of positions, before Nami finally sighed, and when she spoke her voice was strangely muffled. "Idiot. You don't honestly think I would let myself get killed before we've found the greatest treasure in the world, do you? Who's going to make sure you idiots don't spend it all if I'm not there?"

Luffy didn't say anything in return, and Nami fell silent again, and the following quiet was so damn severe Zoro almost felt his eye twitch–

–just as a feminine giggle broke the spell, like a glass shattering against the deck.

"What?" There was a smile in his voice.

"Your hair's tickling me," she replied. There was a pause, before another giggle escaped her lips. "Luffy! Q-quit it!"

He didn't heed her wishes, and the giggles rose in volume to full-blown laughter, piercing the silence of the deck, and Zoro felt a reluctant smile tug at the corner of his mouth quite despite himself. He hadn't thought the woman could laugh like that.

"C-come on! _Stop it_!" she laughed. Luffy did, apparently, and the laughter receded to soft, wheezing giggles again.

"And _I'm_ loud?" Luffy snorted.

"Oh, shut up! You know I'm ticklish. It's your own fault if we woke anyone," she snapped, but there was a good humour in her voice that left little room for anger. "Besides, the only one out right now is Zoro, and the man can sleep through a storm."

A snort. "How d'ya know he's not awake?"

A pause. "Is there a time of day when he's not asleep?" she asked dryly. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Good point," Luffy said with a laugh, before it turned muffled, and Zoro's brows shot into his hairline at the sound, because regardless of whatever plausible scenario his mind could come up with as a way of explanation, there was really no denying what _that_ noise implied. And for all his presumed ignorance of anything bordering on the erotic (and his permanent place at the butt of the cook's perverted jokes), there was nothing remotely innocent about Luffy's reaction to the witch's advances, at least going by the distinct _smacking_ sound Zoro was sure was now permanently carved into his mind.

Well, _damn._ It would seem his weren't the only deceiving appearances on the Sunny.

He was thankfully spared anything overtly graphic, which was a good thing because he was pretty damn sure he wouldn't have been able to look his best friend in the face for at least a week if that had been the case. There was some more rearranging of limbs, another yelp and a giggle from the witch (who'd laughed more in the past half-hour than he'd heard in weeks, he noted idly), before they settled back down into silence. And it was such a glaring anomaly he couldn't quite wrap his mind around it: two of his decidedly loudest nakama being _quiet_ in each other's company.

"In the New World..." Nami began then.

"I won't die." There wasn't a trace of doubt in the reply, but then this was Luffy, and Zoro hadn't come to expect anything else. "I won't die," he repeated. "And neither will you. I'll protect you. All of you."

Nami sighed. "I know you will," she said. "Just be careful, ne? You're too reckless."

Luffy laughed. "Yeah, I know."

There was yet another '_thwack_', but even Zoro could tell it was half-hearted. "Idiot. At least you're self-aware in that regard," she said, the words trailing off into a yawn.

There was a shuffle. "Wanna go back inside?"

"Mm. Let's just stay here a little while longer," she murmured. "It might be the last peaceful moment we get in a good while."

"M'kay."

And they fell back into silence once again.

When they'd been quiet for a good fifteen minutes, Zoro decided to risk a look over the edge of the railing, only to realize that the reason for their silence was that they'd fallen asleep on the lawn, limbs all a-tangle and leaving very little doubt as to the nature of the situation leading up to their predicament. Luffy was sprawled on his back and took about as much space in his sleep as he did wide awake, one arm slung around the shoulders of the tangerine-haired navigator who'd curled up against his side like a cat, head tucked into the hollow of his throat. It was far closer than he'd seen the woman get to anyone, and there was an intimacy there even Nami's silver tongue couldn't reason away if she tried.

Unduly pleased for some reason, Zoro stretched languidly as he started off in the direction of his cabin. He could easily have woken the two of them, told them to get a damn room because if the cook found them like that in the morning they'd not only be one pirate crew short of a captain, but also but in a very awkward (although undoubtedly also _very_ entertaining) situation. He could have easily done this.

But he didn't. Because the ero-cook needed someone to wake him up from his fantasies, and to be honest, the severe shit-storm that had gone down in Enies Lobby had earned the crew the right to some good news for a change. Besides, he thought as he opened the door to the cabin, throwing a last look behind him towards the railing looking down onto the lawn deck, he'd had no idea they were even there.

He'd been asleep the whole time.

* * *

AN: Mah cuties. I hope to write some more about these two from other Straw-Hat perspectives, if this was enjoyable. Please leave a word if you feel like it!


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